Abstracts

Rationale: Historically and currently, people with epilepsy (PWE) experience a lower rate of employment than the general population. In 2005, the unemployment rate was 9.8% for people with active epilepsy, 8.3% for people with inactive epilepsy, and 5.4% for people with no history (Institute of Medicine, 2012). Despite this discrepancy, public health social marketing messaging on this topic is lacking. The specific aim of this project was to identify the current attitudes towards hiring PWE. This project gathered formative research data on the intention, norms, and attitudes of employers in the Washington Metro Region towards hiring people with epilepsy to inform social marketing messaging. Methods: A survey based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the 4 Ps of social marketing (Product, Place, Promotion, Price) was distributed via flyers in the Washington Metro Region, social media, personal networks, and an email Listserv for food truck workers. The survey also gathered information about employers including location, years of hiring experience, and previous experience hiring people with disabilities and epilepsy. 29 responses were included in the analysis. Subjects that did not live in the Washington Metro Region or were not responsible for hiring were removed from the data set. Scales were created from theory constructs. Select question were omitted from scales to improve the strength of internal validity.Correlations were run between the various TPB constructs except Behavior. For Behavior, chi-square tests of independence were run between Behavior and Intention. Descriptive statistics were run for all demographic, employer behavior, and scale questions. Frequency statistics were gathered for questions on demographics, employer behavior, marketing mix, and TPB constructs. Results: Most participants were between 26-34 years old (48.3%), female (69.0%), and white (79.3%). Many participants had some level of higher education degree (93.0%). The top three business types were non-for-profit (20.7%), federal (13.8%), and education (10.3%). Most participants did not know if they had hired employees with a disability (41.4%) or a person with epilepsy. The top three skills and attributes employers look for in an employee were hardworking (55.2%), teamwork (26.7%), and timely (10.3%). The main concerns employers had towards their employers were ability to complete work in a timely fashion (37.9%), culture fit (34.5%), and stability (13.8%).Strength between the variable constructs were as follows: Behavioral beliefs with attitude (r=.00, p=1.0), normative beliefs with subjective norms (r=.49, p=.40), r=.06, p=.91), attitude with intention (r=.04, p=.927), subjective norm with intention (r=-.80, p=.10), perceived behavioral with intention (r=.62, p=.19), and intention with behavior (x2 [1, n=25],=2.60, p=.2; x2 [1, N=19)=2.57, p=.10). Conclusions: The following constructs should be targeted in social marketing messaging: perceived behavioral control, normative belief, intention, subjective norms, behavioral belief, outcome evaluation, and normative belief. Employers surveyed had a positive attitude towards the employability of people with epilepsy. Results indicated concerns were focused on employee safety and accommodations. Future studies should target blue-collar, labor jobs that people with epilepsy often occupy (Institute of Medicine, 2012).Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on the Public Health Dimensions of the Epilepsies, England, M. J., & ebrary, I. (2012). Epilepsy across the spectrum: Promoting health and understanding. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. Funding: None